Model plant construction systems and processes

ABSTRACT

In methods for managing congestion points of a plant lifecycle, access can be provided to a project database, as well as a congestion engine coupled with the project database. The congestion engine can be used to analyze project designs, resources, and activities. At least one congestion object can be generated based at least in part upon the analysis of the congestion engine. A project interface can be configured to present the at least one congestion object.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is systems and methods for modeling a plantlifecycle.

BACKGROUND

During a plant's lifecycle, it is quite common to encounter points ofcongestion in during the construction phase (e.g., a welder is scheduledto complete his work two feet above a worker who is schedule to connecta junction box), as well as during the operations, maintenance and otherphases of a plant lifecycle. Despite the common occurrence of congestionpoints in later phases of a plant lifecycle, earlier phases of theplant's lifecycle such as design and engineering phases typically failto account for potential congestion points despite the benefit ofreducing or eliminating delays, additional costs, and other problemsassociated with the potential congestion.

Various systems and methods for managing a project's construction aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,170 to Pollalis et al., U.S. Pat. No.5,369,570 to Parad, U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,760 to Dorgan et al., and U.S.patent publ. no. 2005/0010459 to Kawabata et al. (publ. January 2005).While such systems and methods manage aspects of a plant's constructionsuch as resources needed and scheduling of tasks, they fail to accountfor potential congestion points in pre-construction phases that couldoccur during and after the plant's construction.

These and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein areincorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or useof a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary tothe definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that termprovided herein applies and the definition of that term in the referencedoes not apply.

Thus, there is still a need for systems and methods configured to managecongestion points of a plant lifecycle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods inwhich one can identify and manage potential congestion points early onin a plant lifecycle, such that delays and other issues that couldresult from the identified congestion points during the construction andlater phases of the plant lifecycle can be mitigated. As used herein,the term “plant lifecycle” includes the design/proposal, engineering,detailed design, construction, operation, maintenance, or end of lifephases of a plant.

For example, contemplated systems and methods can be configured toautomatically conduct an analysis of potential congestion problems whena construction schedule is completed and before the construction phasehas begun, and more preferably before commencing a detailed engineeringphase. By identifying potential issues before the detailed engineeringphase, the potential congestion points can be mitigated early on in theplant lifecycle, which advantageously can reduce the time and cost thatcould otherwise be required to manage congestion points in the detailedengineering or later phases. Such analysis can also take into accountcongestion points that could occur during operation, maintenance, andend of life phases of the plant lifecycle, even before plantconstruction has begun. This is quite advantageous over knownmaintenance-related design, which typically involves a maintenanceengineer manually conducting a maintainability review.

In one aspect, methods for managing congestion points include providingaccess to a project database and a congestion engine coupled with theproject database. Project designs, resources, and activities can beanalyzed by the congestion engine, and at least one congestion objectcan be generated based at least in part upon the analysis of thecongestion engine. A project interface can preferably be configured topresent the at least one congestion object.

Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth hereinshould be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints, andopen-ended ranges should be interpreted to include commerciallypractical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered asinclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates thecontrary.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventivesubject matter will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanyingdrawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a diagram of one method for managing congestion points of aplant lifecycle.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of one embodiment of a system configured to managecongestion points of a plant lifecycle.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of one embodiment of a management interface.

FIG. 4 is a schematic of one embodiment of a project interface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be noted that while the following description is drawn to acomputer/server based congestion point modeling system for a plantlifecycle, various alternative configurations are also deemed suitableand may employ various computing devices including servers, interfaces,systems, databases, agents, peers, engines, controllers, or other typesof computing devices operating individually or collectively. One shouldappreciate the computing devices comprise a processor configured toexecute software instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium (e.g., hard drive, solid state drive,RAM, flash, ROM, etc.). The software instructions preferably configurethe computing device to provide the roles, responsibilities, or otherfunctionality as discussed below with respect to the disclosedapparatus. In especially preferred embodiments, the various servers,systems, databases, or interfaces exchange data using standardizedprotocols or algorithms, possibly based on HTTP, HTTPS, AES,public-private key exchanges, web service APIs, known financialtransaction protocols, or other electronic information exchangingmethods. Data exchanges preferably are conducted over a packet-switchednetwork, the Internet, LAN, WAN, VPN, or other type of packet switchednetwork.

The following discussion provides many example embodiments of theinventive subject matter. Although each embodiment represents a singlecombination of inventive elements, the inventive subject matter isconsidered to include all possible combinations of the disclosedelements. Thus if one embodiment comprises elements A, B, and C, and asecond embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the inventive subjectmatter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A,B, C, or D, even if not explicitly disclosed.

One should appreciate that the disclosed techniques provide manyadvantageous technical effects including the ability to automatically,or semi-automatically, identify and manage congestion points that couldoccur in a plant lifecycle, such that the congestion points arepreferably mitigated early on in the plant lifecycle. In this manner,the impact of the congestion points on subsequent phases of the plantlifecycle can be minimized and potentially eliminated, which canadvantageously (i) reduce or eliminate problems due to productionbottlenecks, (ii) facilitate the timely procurement of necessarymaterials, or (iii) otherwise insure the timely completion, properoperation, and required maintenance of a plant.

Contemplated congestion points can include any congestion that could orwill arise during the plant lifecycle, and therefore might impact one ormore phases of a plant lifecycle. In contrast to actual conflicts,congestion points represent a potential for congestion or other problemsthat may occur in the plant lifecycle and may be based uponpreviously-identified congestion points at the same or different plants,a location of and resources needed for a particular task, and/orschedules associated with a construction or other phases of the plantlifecycle. Exemplary congestion points could include, for example,scheduling congestion, space congestion, resource congestion, inclementweather, and other types of congestion.

Scheduling congestion could include, for example, (1) a person, team, orpiece of equipment is scheduled to be in different places at overlappingtimes, (2) a second task is scheduled that requires completion of afirst task that may not be completed by the scheduled time, (3) recentlylaid concrete prevents usage of a road by trucks or other vehiclesneeded at another area of the plant construction, (4) conduit isscheduled to be laid, but excavation is not yet completed, or (5) onecongestion point could delay another project of the plant construction.

Examples of space congestion can include (1) two tasks scheduled at thesame location that has a space constraint where only one task can beworked on at a time, (2) a cement truck may be blocking a road needed bya dump truck, (3) building materials are being stored in a location thatrequires excavation, or (4) a section of a building providesinsufficient space for conducting maintenance of an electrical panel.

Resource congestion can include, for example, (1) a specific piece ofequipment is needed to complete overlapping tasks, (2) a task isscheduled but necessary supplies will not be available, (3) a shortageof materials occurs; (4) a piece of necessary equipment breaks ormalfunctions; (5) workers become ill or go on strike; or (6) buildingmaterials delivered but a crane is not available to move the materials.

In FIG. 1, an embodiment of a method 100 for managing congestion pointsof a plant lifecycle is illustrated, which includes step 110 ofproviding access to a project database that advantageously can storeinformation related to one or more plant constructions. Exemplaryproject databases include those utilized in plant design software suchas SmartPlant™ sold by Intergraph™, and any other commercially suitabledatabases.

In step 120, access can be provided to a congestion engine coupled withthe project database, such that the congestion engine can access theinformation stored in the project database. Such information caninclude, for example, location information, plant construction start andend dates, and resources required to complete the plant construction.The project database could further include information related to theoperation and maintenance of other plants.

In step 130, the congestion engine can be configured to analyzeinformation related to current and past project designs such asconstructions schedules, historical congestion points, resources neededduring the plant lifecycle, or projects or other activities, all ofwhich is preferably stored in the project database but couldalternatively be stored in one or more databases coupled with thecongestion engine. For example, it is contemplated that the projectdesigns could be stored in a design re-use library such as thatdescribed in co-pending WIPO application titled “Plant DeliverableManagement System” having serial no. PCT/US10/60535 filed on Dec. 15,2010.

The project designs could include previous iterative designs of thecurrent plant and/or designs of past or planned plant constructionsdistinct from the current plant. Resources could include, for example,equipment, materials, money, and manpower. Activities could includevarious tasks required to complete a plant construction, and can alsoinclude future activities in step 132, such as tasks related to theoperation, maintenance, and end of life phases of the plant lifecycle.

In some contemplated embodiments, the congestion engine can beconfigured to interact with modularization technology including, forexample, that described in co-pending U.S. pat. appl. titled “ModularProcessing Facility” having Ser. no. 12/971,365 and filed on Dec. 17,2010, and WIPO pat. publ. no. 2011/075625 to Fluor Technologies Co.(publ. June 2011). In this manner, the congestion engine can beconfigured to analyze modularization-based projects.

Based at least in part upon the analysis of the congestion engine, oneor more congestion objects can be generated in step 140 that eachrepresents one or more potential congestion points. In especiallypreferred embodiments, the congestion engine can be used early on duringthe design and/or engineering phases of a plant lifecycle either inreal-time or when desired by a user to identify potential congestionpoints that could occur in future phases of the plant lifecycle. Byidentifying the potential congestion points, this advantageously allowsthe user the opportunity to mitigate potential congestion points earlyon in the plant lifecycle and in some cases, even before a detaileddesign phase has commenced.

In one aspect, the congestion engine could utilize one or morealgorithms to conduct a comparison of the planned activities in eachphase of a plant lifecycle with similar activities of past projects togenerate the congestion objects. The comparison could include analyzethe circumstances surrounding congestion points encountered in pastprojects and compare those circumstances with likely circumstances ofthe planned activities to determine whether such congestion points couldoccur as a result of the planned activities, and if so, what is thelikelihood that the congestion will occur.

The congestion engine's analysis could additionally or alternativelyinclude a comparison of the resources necessary for the plannedactivities with the availability of those resources to generatecongestion objects. For example, should one or more of the plannedactivities require a scarce resource, it is more probable that acongestion point could arise with respect to those activities shouldthat resource become unavailable. As another example, should one or moreof the planned activities require the same resource, the congestionengine could analyze the likelihood that one activity's use of thatresource might impact another activity's use of the same resource. Theanalysis could also take into account a historical availability ofresources needed to determine whether each resource is likely to beavailable when needed.

In another aspect, the congestion engine might also analyze one or mapsrepresenting at least a portion of the area where the plant will beconstructed as well as potentially representing surrounding area toidentify thoroughfares where various pieces of equipment will pass, andareas where materials and equipment will be placed when not in use. Forexample, if every piece of equipment and delivery truck must utilize anarrow road to reach the construction site, there is likely a greaterpotential for congestion than for sites having multiple access routes.

It is further contemplated that the congestion engine might also analyzeschedules associated with the plant lifecycle and compare scheduledactivities for each day, week, month or other time period with thehistorical weather data for that period to determine the potential forcongestion based upon historical weather trends. For example, if aschedule has a planned activity to pour concrete when rain or otherinclement weather has historically occurred, there is a potential forcongestion since the concrete pouring could be delayed by weather. Incontrast, indoor activities are less likely to be impacted by theweather.

Because of the potential for the generation of a near limitless numberof congestion objects, the congestion engine could be configured tofilter out those congestion points that are more or less theoretical(i.e., very unlikely). This could be accomplished by limiting thecongestion engine's analysis to congestion points with a likelihood ofcongestion over a defined threshold, such that highly unlikelycongestion can be disregarded. However, the filter might also take intoaccount the priority of each identified congestion point, such that ifthe priority is greater than a defined threshold, the congestion pointmay be included even if the likelihood of congestion is less than thedefined threshold discussed above. For example, if a congestion point isidentified that has a likelihood of occurring in 1:1000 plant lifecyclesbut should it occur the plant construction would be delayed by more thanone month, the congestion point would likely have a higher prioritybecause of its potential devastating impact on the plant constructionand may therefore be included.

Even with such filters, it is contemplated that a plant lifecycle couldinclude hundreds, if not thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundredsof thousands, of congestion objects, depending upon the scale of theplant. Each of the congestion objects can represent a potentialcongestion that could arise during the plant lifecycle, and can be basedupon information related to the plant lifecycle including, for example,construction and maintenance schedules, operation guides, plant layouts,required resources for projects, and locations of the various projects.Each of the congestion objects preferably include one or more attributes(step 141), such as an identifier, a likelihood of congestion (“LOC”)(step 142), a priority, a time or time period of the potentialcongestion, a location of the potential congestion, a resource relatedto the potential congestion, other associated congestion objects,potential resolution(s) to mitigate the potential congestion, an actualcongestion value, and/or an action (e.g., chosen resolution) (step 143).

The “time” attribute can be used to indicate the context related to thecongestion point. This is important because a congestion point couldhave a different importance or required response depending upon thecontext (e.g., a construction phase versus a maintenance phase). Forexample, a congestion point representing a scheduling congestion duringa construction phase might have more important than a congestion pointrepresenting the scheduling congestion during a maintenance phase if themaintenance phase had additional leeway concerning when tasks arecompleted.

It is contemplated that the LOC value for a congestion object could bebased upon the attributes of that congestion object. For example, a LOCvalue of a congestion object representing a scheduling congestion of aresource might be based upon conflicting time and/or location valueswhere that resource is required. A LOC of a congestion objectrepresenting space congestion, for example, might be based upon alocation and a specific resource.

Time values could include, for example, a start time for a project ortask, an estimated duration, a completion time, and so forth. Locationvalues could include, for example, an initial location, a currentlocation, and so forth. Resource values could include, for example, amaterial, a piece of equipment, a worker, a cost, and so forth. Actionvalues could include, for example, move materials from one location toanother, pour concrete, and so forth.

In step 144, the congestion objects each preferably includes a LOCattribute and a resource attribute, and each can be assigned a priorityvalue based at least in part upon the LOC and resource values. Forexample, if multiple congestion objects are associated with a resourcehaving limited availability, those congestion objects might have ahigher priority value because of the higher demand for that limitedresource and therefore the higher likelihood that resource could becomeunavailable.

Based upon their respective priority values, it is contemplated that thecongestion objects can be ranked or otherwise prioritized such thatcongestion objects having higher priority values can be presented to auser before those congestion objects having lower priority values. Thisprioritization could occur on a graphical interface, which can displaythe congestion objects for the user, and preferably allows in step 154for congestion objects with greater priority values to be differentiatedin some manner from congestion objects with lower priority values. Forexample, a congestion object could be graphically distinguished byutilizing different sizes, shapes, shadings, colors, emphases, and soforth, which advantageously allows a user to identify a specific groupof congestion objects based upon one or more filters. This is especiallyhelpful for construction projects having thousands of congestionobjects, or more, as the differentiated congestion objects can allow auser to readily distinguish between low and high priority congestionobjects.

Alternatively or additionally, the priority values can be used togenerate pop-ups, emails, or other alerts relating to congestion objectsrequiring immediate attention of a user.

In other contemplated embodiments, a risk of congestion could becalculated by analyzing priority and likelihood of congestion values ofthe congestion points to determine the potential impact and likelihoodof that impact occurring in a plant construction.

In step 146, a management interface can be provided that is configuredto allow a user to edit one or more attributes of a congestion object.In this manner, a congestion object can be edited to change a resourceattribute, a time attribute, and/or other attributes, such that thepotential congestion can be mitigated. In step 147, the congestionobjects can also include a set of conditions, which define when thecongestion objects will each be generated by the congestion engine, andcould also define what is required to resolve the potential congestion.Using the editing interface, one or more of the conditions could bemodified as needed to ensure the congestion object is properly generatedand resolved.

In step 150, a project interface can be configured to present the atleast one congestion object, and preferably includes a graphical userinterface that permits filtering or sorting of congestion objects basedupon one or more criterion. In some contemplated embodiments, one ormore of the congestion objects can be graphically overlaid in step 152on a plant construction schedule via the project interface or othersuitable interface. For example, the graphic overlay could includetwo-dimensional and/or three-dimensional representations, and could bepresented chronologically, by how the congestion varies as a function oftime overall or with respect to one or more locations, resources, orother criteria, by location, by specific view, or by other suitableorganizational structures.

In step 160, access can optionally be provided to a recommendationengine configured to analyze in step 162 the at least one congestionobject generated by the congestion engine. The analysis could take intoaccount attributes associated with the congestion object such as time,location and resource values, associated congestion objects, pastprojects, and other relevant information. From this analysis, arecommendation that includes one or more suggested congestionresolutions can be generated to mitigate the potential congestionrepresented by the congestion object. The recommendation could furtherinclude an analysis of each identified congestion resolution, such thatany potential benefits or downfalls associated with the congestionresolution can be presented with the recommendation.

An exemplary recommendation could suggest amending a constructionschedule to change a time value associated with a particular project. Itis contemplated that each recommendation can be associated with multiplecongestion objects where implementation of a congestion resolutionsuggested by the recommendation could resolve the associated congestionobjects.

It is contemplated that a user can select a congestion resolutionsuggested by the recommendation generated by the recommendation engine'sanalysis in step 162, or alternatively could edit the congestion objectto thereby manually enter a congestion resolution. In step 172, acongestion resolution selected by the user can be associated with the atleast one congestion object, and can be stored in step 174 in aresolution database or other suitable location.

The stored congestion resolutions can be analyzed in step 176 by therecommendation engine, such that future recommendations could be basedat least in part on the stored congestion resolutions. In somecontemplated embodiments, the congestion resolutions can be incorporatedinto a rules algorithm used by the recommendation engine, and stored inone or more databases, such that future decisions consider previouscongestion resolutions. This advantageously allows the recommendationengine to have a self-learning capacity where recommendations can begenerated based upon prior congestion resolutions, and therecommendations could thus change over time depending upon the selectedcongestion resolutions associated with the congestion objects.

In step 180, the at least one congestion object can optionally be storedas a historical congestion object. Typically, the at least onecongestion object will be stored after a resolution has been identified;although it is contemplated that congestion objects without anassociated resolution could also be stored. A LOC value can be assignedto the stored congestion object in step 184, which can be analyzed instep 182 to produce a LOC value for future generated congestion objects.

The historical congestion object could include any recommendations orcongestion resolutions associated with the at least one congestionobject such as for later analysis. During a plant lifecycle, each of thehistorical congestion objects could be updated by the congestion engineor other suitable engine to further include whether the potentialcongestion actually occurred, which can be used to modify the conditionsupon which the congestion object is generated and/or increase theaccuracy of future recommendations to resolve that congestion object. Insome contemplated embodiments, the congestion engine could analyzecamera feeds, changes to construction and other schedules, unexpectedmovement of materials, and other external information to determinewhether congestion has occurred in the plant lifecycle. For example, alast-minute change in the schedule might indicate actual congestionassociated with one or more activities.

The LOC values will typically represent a likelihood of delay in theconstruction project, although the likelihood of the congestion willtypically be independent of the length of the potential delay.

In preferred embodiments, the congestion engine can re-conduct itsanalysis of the plant lifecycle after congestion resolutions have beenassociated with one or more of the congestion objects to determinewhether the associated congestion resolutions generate additionalcongestion objects. Even more preferably, such analysis could occursimultaneously or in conjunction with the analysis of the recommendationengine, such that recommendations generated in step 164 could includewhat additional congestion points, if any, would be generated for eachcongestion resolution suggested by the recommendation.

In FIG. 2, an embodiment of a system 200 for managing congestion pointsof a plant construction. The system 200 preferably includes a projectdatabase 210 configured to store at least one of project designs,resources, and activities, although it is contemplated that suchinformation could alternatively be stored in any commercially suitablelocations.

System 200 can also include a congestion engine 220 that is coupled withthe project database 210 over a network 230. Network 230 could includean internal network such as a WAN, VPN, or other type of communicationsnetwork, possibly operating as an overlay on the Internet'sinfrastructure, or an external network such as the Internet or otherpacket switched network. In addition, all commercially-suitable wired orwireless connections are contemplated

The congestion engine 220 preferably is configured to analyze theproject designs, resources, and activities, and generate at least onecongestion object, which could be stored in object database 222 or othersuitable location.

It is contemplated that the at least one congestion object could haveone or more attributes including, for example, a priority, a likelihoodof congestion, a time, a location, a resource, an action, relatedcongestion objects, and a congestion resolution. The priority attributecan advantageously represent the potential impact of the congestionobject in the plant lifecycle. A congestion object might have a greaterpriority value depending upon the likelihood of a congestion occurring,the location of the congestion, and whether the congestion could triggerthe occurrence of other congestion should that congestion occur (e.g.,cascade effect). It is contemplated that a priority value of acongestion object can be based at least in part upon an associated LOCvalue and a resource value, although the priority value may also dependupon other attributes of the congestion object.

Thus, for example, it is contemplated that a first congestion objecthaving a lower LOC value could be prioritized over a second congestionobject having a higher LOC value if the congestion associated with thefirst congestion object could cause a considerable delay or cascadingdelays in a plant construction when compared with a minimal delay thatcould be caused by congestion associated with the second congestionobject.

In some contemplated embodiments, the system 200 can further include arecommendation engine 240 such as that described above, which isconfigured to analyze the at least one congestion object and generate arecommendation to resolve the congestion object and thereby mitigate oreliminate potential delay represented by the congestion object. It iscontemplated that the recommendation could include one or more suggestedcongestion resolutions, each of which could mitigate the potentialcongestion if implemented.

After a congestion resolution has been selected and associated with acongestion object, the congestion resolution can be stored in theresolution database 242 or other suitable location. The recommendationengine 240 can advantageously be configured to analyze these storedcongestion resolutions to generate future recommendations, which allowsthe recommendation engine to increase the usefulness of itsrecommendations based upon previously-successful congestion resolutions.

System 200 can further include a project interface 250 such asSmartPlant 3D™, StruPLANT™, EdgeWise Plant™, Optimize 3D™,Pro-Engineer™, or other suitable interface that is coupled with theproject database 210 and configured to present the at least onecongestion object to a user. It is preferred that the project interface250 is configured to graphically overlay the at least one congestionobject on a plant construction schedule such as that shown in FIG. 4. Inthis manner, a user can readily view potential congestion at each phaseof a plant lifecycle. By associating a priority value with each of theat least one congestion objects, the congestion objects can begraphically distinguished from other congestion objects on the projectinterface 250 to enable a user to understand which congestion objectsare likely to have a greater impact and/or are more likely to occur. Forexample, congestion objects having a higher priority value could bedistinguished from those congestion objects with a low priority valueusing, for example, different colors, shapes, sizes, shadings, emphases,orders, and so forth.

System 200 could further include a management interface shown in FIG. 3configured to allow a user to edit one or more attributes of acongestion object, which could be integral to or separate from theproject interface 250. In some contemplated embodiments, each congestionobject can be associated with a set of conditions that must be met forthe congestion object to be generated by the congestion engine. In suchembodiments, the management interface is preferably configured to allowfor editing of the set of conditions for each congestion object.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a management interface 300 thatillustrates a schematic of a plant 310 with multiple congestion objects320A-C. Using the management interface 300, a congestion object 320A canbe selected by a user to thereby display additional information 322Aabout the selected congestion objects 320A. The additional informationcan include various attributes of the congestion objects such as anidentification value, namespace, LOC, priority, location, associatedresource(s), suggesting resolution(s), and whether an actual conflictoccurred related to the congestion object. In some contemplatedembodiments, the additional information 322A can include one or moregraphs illustrating a change in the priority and/or LOC values as afunction of time.

Using the management interface 300, it is contemplated that the user canmodify at least a portion of the additional information 322A. Forexample, a user could manually modify the priority of the congestionobject 320A, or could select one of the suggested resolutions forimplementation or further information about the suggested congestionresolution.

In FIG. 4, a simplified activity schedule 400 is displayed as a Ganttchart having six activities 410A-F that are scheduled to occur duringtimeline 420, although any commercially suitable chart(s) could be used.It is contemplated that each of the activities 410A-F could be scheduledusing the critical path method or any other commercially suitablemethod(s) or combination thereof.

Using a congestion engine such as that described above, the activityschedule 400 can be analyzed to identity potential congestion points,and generate congestion objects 430A-C. For example, congestion object430A might represent a resource congestion where a delay could occur incommencing activity 410D should necessary resources fail to arrive bythe scheduled start date because those resources are in short supply. Asanother example, congestion object 430B might represent a spacecongestion where a delay could occur in commencing activity 410E becausethe space needed for activity 410E overlaps with the space needed tocomplete activity 410D. As yet another example, congestion object 430Cmight represent a scheduling congestion where the start of activity 410Cis dependent upon the completion of activity 410D.

In some contemplated embodiments, each of the congestion objects 430A-Ccan be selected, such that additional information can be displayed aboutthe selected congestion object including attributes associated with theselected congestion object. One or more of these attributes canpreferably be edited by a user using a management interface or othersuitable interface.

As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term“coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which twoelements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirectcoupling (in which at least one additional element is located betweenthe two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with”are used synonymously.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many moremodifications besides those already described are possible withoutdeparting from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subjectmatter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification andthe claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possiblemanner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises”and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements,components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that thereferenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized,or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are notexpressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at leastone of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . andN, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from thegroup, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

1. A method for managing congestion points of a plant lifecycle,comprising: providing access to a project database storing a firstproject that includes a preliminary or detailed design of a plant;providing access to a congestion engine coupled with the projectdatabase, wherein the congestion engine comprises a processor configuredto execute software instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium; analyzing, by the congestion engineprocessor, project designs, resources, and activities of the firstproject's preliminary or detailed design of the plant using one or morealgorithms included in the software instructions to compare the projectdesigns, project resources, and project activities with at least one ofpast project designs, past activities, and an availability of eachresource; generating at least one congestion object representing apotential congestion that may occur during a subsequent phase of alifecycle of the plant, wherein the at least one congestion object isbased at least in part upon the analysis of the congestion engine; andconfiguring a project interface to present the at least one congestionobject.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one congestionobject comprises attributes.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein theattributes comprise a time, a location, and at least one of a resourceand an action.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the attributes comprisea likelihood of congestion.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theattributes further comprise a resource, and wherein the method furthercomprises assigning each of the at least one congestion object apriority value based at least in part upon the likelihood of congestionand the resource.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step ofconfiguring the project interface further comprises graphicallydistinguishing the at least one congestion object on the projectinterface as a function of the priority value.
 7. The method of claim 2,further comprising the step of providing a management interfaceconfigured to allow a user to edit the attributes of the at least onecongestion object.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the atleast one congestion object comprises a set of conditions, and whereinthe management interface is configured to allow editing of the set ofconditions.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providingaccess to a recommendation engine; analyzing, by the recommendationengine, the at least one congestion object; and generating arecommendation based upon the at least one congestion object.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising: associating a congestionresolution with the at least one congestion object; storing thecongestion resolution; and wherein the step of analyzing by therecommendation engine further comprises analyzing associated congestionresolutions.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising graphicallyoverlaying the at least one congestion object on a plant constructionschedule.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the atleast one congestion object as a historical congestion object.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: analyzing the historicalcongestion object to produce a likelihood of congestion value; andassigning the likelihood of congestion value to the at least onecongestion object.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the activitiescomprise future activities.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein theactivities include tasks required to complete, operate, or maintain theplant.